Saddam Hussein refused to attend his own trial in Baghdad today after declaring he had been mistreated by an "unjust court", a court official said.The former Iraqi dictator delayed the hearing by four hours, before the presiding judge, Rizgar Amin, decided to continue without him. He subsequently adjourned the trial until December 21. Saddam's lawyers were present for the proceedings.Saddam and seven co-defendants are being tried for the torture and killing of 140 Shia residents from the town of Dujail in 1982 in retaliation for an assassination attempt. He faces the death penalty if convicted.At the end of yesterday's hearing, Saddam threatened to boycott proceedings, complaining that he and his co-defendants had been mistreated during the trial."I will not come to an unjust court," he said. "Go to hell."... http://www.guardian.co.uk

An oil company controlled by the Venezuelan government has made its first delivery of cut-price heating oil to the Bronx borough of New York City. The firm, Citgo, is supplying fuel to thousands of people in deprived areas in co-operation with charities. The initiative started last month with the delivery of heating oil to Boston. It was announced in August by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez - a vocal critic of President George Bush. Under the deal, Citgo said it would provide heating oil at a 40% discount to fill in tanks at properties owned by three non-profit housing corporations in the Bronx. About 8,000 tenants from 75 buildings will benefit from the project, according to the company and the corporations. Deliveries will continue through the winter months until 1 April....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4505936.stm

A Colorado mother is suing a 911 operator for not sending the police quickly enough to rescue her daughter from being kidnapped. After two calls, it took 47 minutes for police to arrive on the scene. Le Thu Nguyen was abducted by Omar Green, the father of her two children, on a July morning four years ago. He forced his way into her car, drove around for some time, and then killed her in Denver's City Park. Her body was found later in her car by family and friends. In December 2002, Green was sentenced to life in prison plus 12 years for first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault. "I think when 911 is called they should have responded," Susan Duvall, Nguyen's mother, said. "It's an emergency." ...http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1380952&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Gunmen killed three police officers early Wednesday when they burst into a hospital in the northern city of Kirkuk and freed a wounded man who had been arrested for plotting to kill a judge in the Saddam Hussein trial, police said. Police Brigadier Sarhat Qadir said the attack on Al-Jumhuriya Hospital in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, also injured six police officers.Police had wounded the suspect when he was arrested with seven other Sunni Arabs on Nov. 26 for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge, Raed Juhi. The men were carrying a document from former top Saddam deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri ordering them to kill Juhi, police said....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177929,00.html

The United States, seeking to defuse criticism of reports of abuse of prisoners, has changed its policy on interrogating detainees, officials said on Wednesday, but human rights groups were skeptical there was a real shift. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a trip to Ukraine, said U.S. personnel would be banned worldwide from subjecting prisoners to cruelty. But London-based Amnesty International said Rice's remarks were "not a major concession." It still wanted serious action by Washington over what it called cases of torture in U.S. bases. "As a matter of U.S. policy, the United States' obligations under the CAT (Convention against Torture), which prohibits cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment — those obligations extend to U.S. personnel wherever they are, whether they are in the United States or outside of the United States," Rice said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1381404

Eyewitnesses said an aircraft crashed into the sea off the Canadian Atlantic province of New Brunswick on Wednesday, but there were no reports of missing aircraft and no sign of wreckage in early search operations, television reports said.One early report said the plane was a four-engined Hercules transport plane. But a spokesman for Canada's military told CTV Television that none of its Hercules planes were missing, and Transport Canada said there were no missing civilian planes. There were also reports that it might have been a small aircraft....http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1381405